Bart Batten, one-half of the Batten Twins tag team and a longtime fixture of professional wrestling’s territory era, died October 1 at his home in Stambaugh, Kentucky. He was 68.
Batten, whose full name was Bartley Alan Batten, was born September 8, 1958, in New Martinsville, West Virginia. He spent much of his wrestling career teaming with his identical twin brother, Brad Batten, who died in 2014.
The brothers were trained by Angelo Poffo and his sons, Randy Savage and Lanny Poffo, and began wrestling professionally in 1983.
The Batten Twins worked across several major territories during the 1980s and early 1990s, including Central States Wrestling, the Continental Wrestling Association, World Class Championship Wrestling, Jim Crockett Promotions, Smoky Mountain Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico.
They became four-time NWA Central States Tag Team Champions and had a prominent rivalry with The Midnight Rockers (Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty).
The Battens also competed in the inaugural Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup in 1986, losing in the opening round to Sam Houston and Nelson Royal.
Their greatest sustained success came in Puerto Rico, where they became one of the World Wrestling Council’s top tag teams. The Batten Twins won the WWC Tag Team Championship four times and the WWC Caribbean Tag Team Championship twice.
They wrestled several of the promotion’s top teams, including The Sheepherders (Butch Miller and Luke Williams) and The Puerto Rican Express (Hurricane Castillo Jr. and Miguelito Perez Jr.).
The brothers later worked for Smoky Mountain Wrestling, where they competed against teams including The Heavenly Bodies (Stan Lane and Tom Prichard), The Fantastics (Bobby Fulton and Jackie Fulton), and The Thrillseekers (Chris Jericho and Lance Storm).
Batten also made appearances for World Championship Wrestling. He wrestled Brian Pillman in 1992, and the Batten Twins later faced Dustin Rhodes and Barry Windham on WCW Main Event.
The brothers continued working on the independent circuit into the 2000s and announced a farewell tour in 2005. Their final match as a team came May 21, 2005, in Bradley, West Virginia, where they teamed with Bart’s son, Brent Batten, in a six-man tag team match.
Batten later remained involved in wrestling as a commentator and television host. He returned to the ring for one final match in 2018.
His cousin Dana Smith recalled learning as a child that Batten and his brother were professional wrestlers.
“I thought that was the coolest thing,” Smith wrote in a tribute shared by Batten’s family.
Batten was preceded in death by his twin brother, Brad, and another brother, Jeff Batten. He is survived by his wife, Tama Stapleton Batten, sons Brandon and Brent, and four grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at a later date.